Well, Baby M passed his first "homeschool" test the other day.  I'm so proud!!  By the way, he turns one year old on August 13, so I guess I'll have to come up with some other way to refer to him than "Baby M."

I've taught him "Soooo big!" and "Patty Cake", of course.  His most recent accomplishments he performed right in a row, without hesitation, in his highchair during a meal.  I asked, "Where's your head, M?"  Hand to head.....he got an A.  Then, "Where's the baby?"  He put his hand to his chest; another A.  (He likes to look in the mirror at himself, so I've been saying, "Look at the baby" when he is gazing at his own reflection.)  Finally, "Where's Mama?"  He adoringly reached out towards me!!!

Needless to say, my heart soared!  He passes his first year of life with flying colors.  He's now graduated to toddler-hood, but without the walking so far.  That'll come.

We homeschoolers, when asked about our desire to homeschool, sometimes reply that, "Well, everyone homeschools their child to a certain extent (see above examples), we simply have decided to continue with those efforts into the academic years."; or something along those lines.  This has new meaning for me with Baby M, since he is the first of my three that has been BORN into our homeschooling world.  When J was born in 2000, S was only 2 and homeschooling was still some distant, foreign idea that I would never have dreamed would be our world.

But now here's M, turning one as I contemplate our sixth year of homeschooling.  So these early baby milestones, while normal and not earth-shattering, take on a different tone when viewed through my homeschooling veil.  I guess I will view the world through his eyes more than I did the other two because I will see it as a big field for exploration and learning.  And I will guide him and foster that exploration to the best of my ability. 

I'm so glad we had a third baby, even with the gap between #2 and #3.  I know so much more about homeschooling than I did when we decided to keep S at home about a month before she was to start Kindergarten.  This is not to say that I'm an expert, by any means.  I simply am more relaxed and I gain confidence with each passing day that we get under our homeschooling belts.

And, of course, it will be so fun to add Baby M's "homeschooling" accomplishments on my blog!  So stay tuned!